Archive for October, 2010
6 items.
The other week I made my way to a Metallica show. It was their second show in Auckland at Vector Arena, and last one for New Zealand. While I have been a fan of the band for a long time, I had not yet seen them play. My only other opportunity was when I moved back to Auckland from Christchurch. Arriving in Auckland the day before the 2004 Big Day Out, where Metallica were headlining. I should have gone, but being new to town I opted out, and instead just wanted to chill out after 8 hours of driving up from Wellington. That was on the back of their “St Anger” tour anyway, so maybe it was for the best? It was a memorable drive though. A lot of Holdens, and dudes in black Metallica tee shirts all hitting State Highway 1 on the drive north to Auckland. It was like a convoy, except no one told me.
Well 2010, and I finally had my chance to see these guys put on their show. Thoughts going through my head. Hopefully they don’t play too much from 1990-2004. Has Lars finally given up on his hair yet? Will they play “For Whom the bell tolls”?
What was I expecting? Well looking at how the stage was going to be laid out from the Ticketmaster website. I was expecting a big production of a show, and a unique concert experience. Also, a lot of metal.
Realistically I figured I’d get a mixed set list with some stuff I didn’t like as much, but with some great stuff mixed in. Turns out the show delivered on most fronts. All the classics were there, but I missed out on the song wanted to hear as it was played the night beforehand. That was made up by other songs I was not expecting though. The stage production was amazing, and a rare treat for NZ audiences who don’t usually get to see full productions like this. Let me tell you, nothing is more comical than 15 thousand metal heads all going “ooooohhhhh” when some fireball pyrotechnics are shot into the sky.
The crowd was good. Everyone was having a good time, and there was very little aggression until a circle pit opened in front of me right at the end of the show. I was clear enough out of the way that it did not affect me though.
For aging rockers, Metallica still have it. Everything sounded amazing. They brought a lot of energy into the performance, and most impressively, James Hetfield’s singing was really clear and good. Dude’s voice has held up well over the years.
All and all, a great show!
I have some more pics up at my Flickr account. An official bootleg of the show (and all Metallica shows it seems) can be found here for 10 bucks US. (the quality of the recording is also amazing).
Thanks for reading!
Marc
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Hey all,
Comic is a little later than normal. My apologies for that. As you can see I am back to the full technicolor of old. It took me time to get set up, and I am still finding things I need to get the way I like them to assist my work flow. There are so many things you take for granted until suddenly it’s all gone!
I hung out at Armageddon Auckland on Sunday. It was good fun! I mostly spent my time either doing some sketching, or catching up with some familiar faces around the place. Not to mention I met some cool new people. I’ll have a post detailing the event coming soon.
Meanwhile, I hope you enjoy the return to colour!
Thanks for reading,
Marc
Once again we find ourselves almost at Labour weekend 2010. Which means Armageddon Auckland is also almost upon us. The Cosplayers will be out in full force. The Anime kids will have saved hard for DVD collections they want to purchase and the general audience will stare in wonder and amazement of this other world they’re still so oblivious too.
Personally, I’m not sure if too many people are going to beat the guy in the Starscream outfit that I saw last year. Mind you, there was the guy in the Dora the Explorer get up too. You can see both of these guys here.
This year I’ll be there for one day only. The Sunday. At the NZ Comic Creators booth. I’m not yet sure where that will be located within the venue, but when I find out, I’ll make sure that I either post the information here, or on my Twitter page. If you are planning on making your way out on the Sunday, please do come by and say “hi”. It’s cool meeting people! If you aren’t going to be able to make it, then I do hope you have a fantastic Labour weekend! If you’re reading this in another country, which is not New Zealand, then the same applies, but without the “Labour” part. Nice.
Thanks for reading,
Marc
Hi everyone!
Hope you’ve enjoyed the mini arc with the traditional styled comics. I should be back to digital next week. I’m hoping at least. This has been fun though. A lot of these pages were drawn very quickly as an exercise in spontaneity. I wasn’t always happy with the result, but hopefully it means I can let go of being so picky with my art sometimes.
I went and saw Metallica last Thursday. It was fun. I might post something in the blog about it soon.
Also, it’s Armageddon this Labour Weekend. If you are going, I will be at the NZ Comics booth on Sunday only. I’ll make sure to tweet it up from the show if you are interested in Cosplayers or anything like that.
Hope your weekend was rad!
Thanks for reading,
Marc
Hey all,
As you can see, I am still “roughing it” with the traditional format. It’s all good.
Every time I return to the South Island, I make sure to either:
1) Eat a Jimmy’s pie.
2) Bring some back with me to the North Island.
I do enjoy them.
Thanks for reading!
Marc
Hey all,
Still without my equipment. It’s another hand drawn story in the meanwhile. Was a very short weekend, as I worked an extra day. Wasn’t the weather nice in Auckland City though? Hopefully if you are elsewhere, the same can be said there.
Also: I touched on this in my post about Melbourne, but a follow up. Turns out Collingwood won it all. I know a certain cab driver who won’t be pleased with that result.
Thanks for reading!
Marc